How to Fix Buffering on Kodi

Anyone who uses a Kodi device knows how good the streaming experience can be. However, there are times when there are severe bouts of Kodi buffering issues that can drive you mad.

It doesn’t matter what device you have Kodi installed on, be it PC or a FireStick, the buffering won’t go no matter what you do.

To make things worse, you can find the same thing happening with other services, and Hulu keeps buffering.

Help is at hand, and using this guide; you can learn how to fix Kodi buffering. You will also learn how to stop Amazon FireStick streaming issues, or any buffering or stuttering problems you may have. (Learn how to jailbreak a Firestick here)

By the end of this guide, you may find out that the buffering issues may not be the fault of Kodi or your device.

There are a few ways you can stop Kodi buffering, so we will look at each in turn.

Kodi and Enabling Unknown Sources

If you have any third-party Kodi add-on installed, you can skip this step as it is a pre-requisite of using these add-ons. You also need it for one of the tools later to deal with your cache settings.

1. Click on the gear icon to open Settings from the home-screen
2. Select Add-ons on the left
3. Toggle Unknown Sources on the right to on
4. Click ‘Yes’ when asked

Optimizing Kodi Cache Size

Video cache in Kodi helps prevent the stuttering and buffering problems you are attempting to address.

With your video streams, you won’t receive all the video at once, and portions of it are placed into this cache. To stop buffering, there are a couple of things to do.

First is to allocate enough cache size (system memory), the second thing in Kodi, clear cache data regularly.

It is here there are various ways to achieve this, so now, we will show how to stop buffering.

Stop Buffering with Ares Wizard

For the best Kodi maintenance, there is nothing better than Ares Wizard for fixing issues, so when you face buffering problems, it makes sense to try this first.

Here are the steps for installation. It does work on FireStick and PC.

1. Open Kodi
2. Click ‘Settings’ in the top left (gear icon)
3. Open File Manager from the options
4. Double Click ‘Add Source’
5. Select
6. Add the following URL exactly: http://areswizard.co.uk/
7. Click OK
8. Give the source a name ‘Ares’
9. Navigate to the Kodi home screen. Select Program add-ons to the left
10. Click the package manager (Box icon in top left)
11. Select ‘Install from zip file’
12. Click ‘Ares’ (the name you gave earlier)
13. Click ‘script.areswizard-0.0.69.zip’
14. Wait while Kodi will install from zip file, then a successful notification box will appear

Using the wizard is straightforward with these steps.

1. Launch Ares Wizard that was installed from the zip file.
2. Click ‘Tweaks’ at the top
3. Click ‘Advanced Settings Wizard’
4. You need to click the next button at the bottom. Read the message before clicking.
5. After reading the message, click ‘Next’
6. Kodi displays available RAM. It also suggests the ideal size for cache memory (1/3 of available device RAM).
7. Click ‘Generate Settings’ button to the bottom left
8. To change the cache, drag the slider bar left or right

The settings wizard offers 4 Buffer Modes.

1. Kodi buffers all streaming on the internet from cloud sources and FTP
2. Default mode. Kodi tries to buffer everything, including video on local storage. (recommended and the default mode)
3. Buffering is restricted to website streams
4. Buffering is disabled

How to Clear Cache on Kodi

If you do this and Kodi still buffering, it maybe you have too many temporary files. You need to exit the advanced settings and then do the following to fix Kodi.

1. In Ares Wizard, click Maintenance at the top
2. Click delete thumbnails
3. Click delete packages

If you are short on space, especially on a FireStick, try removing some Kodi add-ons you don’t use to free up space.

How to Stop Buffering on Kodi using a VPN

Kodi users can try all the above and then find Kodi buffering still occurs once they reboot their system.

Once this happens, the prime reason for buffering on Kodi isn’t the player or the device; it is your ISP throttling your internet connection.

There are no settings you can make to fix this, and while you are streaming, your internet speed can be poor.

The way around this is to sign up for a VPN service provider. Once you have one in place, they prevent your ISP from seeing you are streaming, and thus you can maintain full connection speed.

Unfortunately, not every VPN is suitable, as some can slow connections enough to cause problems rather than fix buffering.

Here is a quick look at three VPN’s that are suitable for Kodi use.

1. ExpressVPN

Ranked number #1 streaming VPN. It tops the speed test with its network of 3,000+ servers. With zero-logging, 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and trusted server technology, users are secure as well as getting the ultimate streaming service.

Test all the performance using the industry best 30-day money-back guarantee, and see how well it stops your internet service provider from slowing your online activities. Works on lots of devices as well as routers.

2. IPVanish

IPVanish VPN has a smaller network (1,200 servers), yet it has a decent download speed to stop the buffering of streams in Kodi.

It also has a kill switch and uses the same encryption for security. It also delivers unlimited bandwidth for streaming.

It offers ten connections, and even then, your ISP won’t throttle your connection. It caters for many devices and does deliver a secure online experience.

3. Private Internet Access

Like the previous, you get a kill switch, unlimited bandwidth, zero logging, and great privacy features.

One downside is the location, which is inside the USA. On the upside, users have 10 device connections, and you can manually install it on some routers. It uses a network of over 3,000 servers, yet these only cover 30 countries.

In most cases, Kodi streaming doesn’t have buffering, and your ISP won’t slow your connection. PIA uses top security and encryption protocols, so any user is safe as well as getting a decent online experience. One thing to note is it suffers with Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming.

Conclusion

Once you read through the above, you likely need a combination of the best Kodi add-on to optimize and maintain your Kodi installation.

However, to get the best Kodi experience, you will need a premium VPN. While there are three above, and the market is awash with many more, number one on the list is the best VPN for any streaming as well as helping to eliminate buffering on Kodi.